ABSTRACT
“The ceilings of ancient palatial buildings were covered with ivory plates, which moved and turned round in such a manner that at intervals they could make the ceiling rain flowers and perfumes.” The ancients, who had more genius than the modern architects and a nobler fancy, had also more severity of judgment. It has been made a just observation, that in dress and decoration those ornaments should be natural, and all the parts have an analogy to the purpose of the room, and between each other. Besides the decoration of ceilings of dining-rooms, drawing-rooms, and the library, that of the hall and staircase demands attention. The cornice in the hall is generally represented heavier than the cornice of the adjoining dining- and drawing-room; there is also at most times modillions in those cornices: sometimes the ceiling of the hall is groined or finished with cross-arches.
